The Simpsons: history of the series

When Homer, Bart, Marge, Lisa and Maggie first appeared on our screens in
1987, in a series of 30-second animated cartoon shorts, no-one could predict
the cultural phenomenon The Simpsons would become.

The 500th episode of The Simpsons will be broadcast in February 2012Photo: REX

In the latest nod to the success of the series, executives at Fox have hinted at plans for an entire channel dedicated to showing Simpsons episodes day and night. But where did it all begin?

The iconic series is the brainchild of Oregon cartoonist Matt Groening, who was asked to pitch a new idea to screenwriter James L Brooks, and came up with the last-minute plot while waiting in the lobby of his office.

Groening named the Simpsons after members of his own family - except for Bart, which is an anagram of "brat" - and the finished product was first shown on variety series The Tracey Ullman Show on April 19, 1987.

It follows the daily mishaps of ordinary couple Marge and Homer, an inspector at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, and their three young children: hell-raiser Bart, eight-year-old clever cloggs Lisa and baby Maggie.

The sketches, which originally lasted 30 seconds, immediately struck a chord with viewers as they poked fun at the typical working class American lifestyle with irreverent historical and political jokes.

Much to fans' delight, The Simpsons was adapted by the Fox network and premiered as a 30-minute comedy series in December 1989, with the Christmas special 'Simpsons roasting on an open fire'.

Over the next two decades, Groening and Brooks - who still act as executive producers on the show - never looked back. The Simpsons won Emmy awards in 1990, 1991, 1995 and 1997 and become the first series to enter Fox's Top 30 ratings in a single season.

In 1998, Time magazine named The Simpsons the century's best television series, and in 2008 it was awarded the title of Empire's greatest television show of all time.

From Marge's wacky hairstyle to Mr Burns' relationship with Smithers, gloomy Krusty the Clown and show-within-a-show Itchy and Scratchy, characters and phrases from the series quickly become household names.

Bart's exclamations "Aye carumba" and "Eat my shorts" have become everyday language, while Homer's catchphrase "D'oh" entered the Oxford English Dictionary in 2001.

The voices behind the characters include Nancy Cartwright as Bart, Dan Castellaneta as Homer, Julie Kavner as Marge, Yeardley Smith as Lisa and series regulars Hank Azaria and Harry Shearer.

More than 100 celebrities have featured in The Simpsons, including Sir Paul McCartney, Rupert Murdoch, J K Rowling and Elton John. The show currently holds the Guinness World Record for most guest stars in a television series.

Fans across the world spend up to $750m (£482m) a year on Simpsons merchandise, which varies from toys to comic books, games and a theme park ride at Universal Studios. The Simpsons Movie, released in July 2007, grossed nearly $530m at the box office.

Despite its success, The Simpsons has often been controversial. In 1992, President Bush said the American family needed to be "a lot more like the Waltons and a lot less like the Simpsons", while former First Lady Barbara Bush said the series was "the dumbest thing I've ever seen".

Bart has been declared a bad role model for children, leading to a prime-time ban for the series in China, Venezuela and Russia, while Homer's eating habits have been criticised for being unhealthy.

Marge Simpson raised eyebrows in 2009 when she became the first animated character to appear on the cover of Playboy magazine.

While the series has changed very little during its 24 year history, the iconic opening credits were revamped in 2009 to coincide with the launch of episodes in HD and widescreen.

The first episode in the 23rd season of The Simpsons was broadcast on Fox on September 25.